Muguruza moves to AEGON semis after Vandeweghe retirement

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Garbine Muguruza earned a sudden pass to the semifinals at the AEGON Classic Friday. The sixth seed was in a heavy battle with Coco Vandeweghe when the American suddenly called it quits on Ann Jones Center Court to give the Spaniard a 4-6, 6-4 30-0 win at Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club. A left ankle injury began to trouble the 25-year-old taking concern to not make it worse.

Vandeweghe had a 3-1 lead over the Spaniard that included a win at this year’s Australian Open quarterfinal. It was a complete dominance from the American that helped her shut down Muguruza in the second set. She had her leveled on wins on the hard court but when it came to grass, the 25-year-old had her Spanish opponent beat. While both grass court wins occurred three years ago, it was possible that she could hold on to that or face a different player with her strengths increased as she proved Thursday against Alison Riske.  

The two opened with service holds but in the third, Vandeweghe was first to break ahead of the Spaniard. She opened a 3-1 lead on the sixth seed but an issue with her foot caused her to lose all the ground she built up on Muguruza. By the sixth, they were in a dead die before the American got the lead back. During the first available break, Vandeweghe took a medical timeout to have her foot bandaged and tight to keep on the track of her game.

Muguruza leveled on service but the American once again showed her strengths and got out front to lead 5-4 with a chance at the set. She received a couple chances with errors occurring from Muguruza’s end. The world number 14 rallied to deuce but failed to defend the advantage. It was quickly swept up by Vandeweghe who kept the forehand at top notch to win the tenth and take the set in 52 minutes. She had 16 winners that clearly assisted in her success but knew that more had to be done for more positive results.

The second serve was struggling to start the second set leading to Muguruza’s break in the third. The fourth saw another problem with Vandeweghe’s foot as she took a fall from her toe that caused the overall pain. It gave the Spaniard her first sizable lead so far hoping to hold off the American going further. Vandeweghe answered with a lot of effort on her end to get a win on serve and an ace during her time gave put her a game down but still feeling the pain in her left ankle.

The issue took a toll on her game that allowed Muguruza to dictate the next two games within reach of the set. As she served in the eighth, Vandeweghe did everything to put together a sizable defense that helped her win the break and delay the inevitable. Her strengths earned her a second straight game but the serve was back in Muguruza’s hands to end the set for herself. Facing adversity, the sixth seed fought through the returns of her opponent and got the set point on her second attempt ending 38 minutes.

In a surprise start to the third, Vandeweghe played two points before calling it quits due to her decision to stop playing on the foot and recover before Wimbledon. While she didn’t win in straight sets the number six seed would take the time left in the day to rest before Saturday’s semifinal facing the winner between Ashleigh Barty and Camila Giorgi.   

Vandeweghe upsets Konta at AEGON Classic

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Johanna Konta was out of sorts that led to her defeat at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham Thursday. American Coco Vandeweghe set her own pace and dominated the top ranked British star to take her out in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 on Ann Jones Centre Court at Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club.

The top 30 players made it a first-time meeting on the WTA tour but a third meeting overall. They last faced off five years ago on Vandeweghe’s home turf in ITF play only to lose to the Brit in straight sets. The Californian would do everything to repay the favor with Konta playing in her home country. She got the win over fellow countrywoman Christina McHale while Konta delivered a straight sets win over Lesia Tsurenko. As the 26-year-old continues to put mileage on the grass courts, she hoped to get through and bring pride not only to herself but her home fans.

She didn’t get the best start as Vandeweghe opened up to 3-0 run serving down powerful rips across court that beat down the British star. She took the next pair of games making it very difficult for the fans to watch and get their countrywoman energized. When it looked as if she’d be delivered the bagel, Konta forced out a solid serve to avoid the shutout but not the inevitable result.

As Vandeweghe went on serve, she continued firing the ball hard getting it where Konta wasn’t stand and put the set to rest after 24 minutes. Despite serving at 80 percent, Konta’s second serve was dismal having just two of four from it and 1 of 12 points on the first return. She took a conference with her coach during the break indicating the obvious and how she was feeling.

The second was a much tighter fight for Konta as she improved her game to show competitive spirit. She matched the American game for game leading the way after five that had the fans in Birmingham enjoying a newfound life in the match. She still couldn’t get a foothold in the set as Vandeweghe had her strategy set on keeping the pressure against her opponent while finding a way out front.

The American was first to act and kept the heat on Konta to stay alive by any means. She reached 5-3 with the Brit on the ball having bad beats on the challenges and the continuous hard returns to reach match point and win on a forehand lob from the number one Brit. The victory came swiftly for the American who not only got her revenge but also finished lightning quick in just over an hour and five minutes.

Though her first serve percentage was under 60 percent, she won 95 percent of her points and 11 of 17 from the second. The well-rounded offense helped out her struggling returns to get her in the right shape to go into the quarterfinals where she’ll face world number 14 Garbine Muguruza on Friday.

Konjuh dominates Azarenka at Mallorca Open

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Victoria Azarenka’s return to tennis came to an abrupt halt at the Mallorca Open Thursday. 19 year old Ana Konjuh of Croatia put on the best performance of the week as she dominated the former number one 6-1, 6-3 on Pista Central at Santa Ponza Tennis Club. The quick actions from the seventh seed brought the Belorussian’s return to tennis to an end as she couldn’t get dug in to be a competitive force.

The two haven’t played one another before making it an excited match not only for the Belorussian but the Croatian who pulled off an exciting win against Ons Jabeur Tuesday. Azarenka wasn’t lucky enough to finish hers in the same but her will to win her first of the season took three dramatic games that ended in a 9-7 tiebreaker. With the jitters out of the way, the former number one needed consistency to come into action quickly or face hard times ahead.

She didn’t find anyway right away as Konjuh dictated the start of the set and never looked back. Her strategy of not letting Azarenka get a footing on serve or on the returns led her to a dramatic 4-0 run on the former number one. The first sign of a challenge came in the fifth where the two went to deuce but the Croatian dealt with the adversity like a pro and kept her opponent scoreless. As she sat a game from handing Azarenka the bagel, the former number one tried to pull out a win on serve in her last chance. She pulled off a key ace followed by a winner that helped her secure the win and avoid the shutout from Konjuh.

The lone game would be all that she could attain from the 19-year-old as the Croatian kept the set in her end and finished off with a good hold of the seventh to complete a great start after just 34 minutes. The seventh seed had 18 winners in her early success while minimizing the unforced errors. Her show of dominance clearly had Azarenka at a loss of response with the hope of turning it around in the second set.

Konjuh kept her foot on the gas, breaking Azarenka on her opening serve to begin the set. As the Croatian reached a second game, the Belorussian let out a scream of frustration that seemed to help. She made the third game hers to own and shut out Konjuh for her first love service of the match. The Croatian took over from the small point of Azarenka’s to march forward to her ultimate goal of succeeding. It was 4-1 with the seventh seed on the ball during the sixth game where she faltered enough to give the former number one her third game winner.

The margin was just a game between the two but as Konjuh served in the eighth, the seventh seed made her game count and won her way to play for the match in the ninth. Despite finding her way to another battle on deuce, the 19-year-old reached a second match point to put away the match in stunning fashion that took 1 hour and 11 minutes to complete.

With so much momentum in her end, the young Croatian would go into Friday’s quarterfinal taking of Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.